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It's back! Few rules here since the last topic got locked (and I will periodically ask a Mod to be on top of it):

I get that talking football, especially with fans of rival teams, can get heated. Except for Jets fans, they're not real fans and I hope they go 0-16 this year.

ANYWAY; let's keep conversation simple. Assume that the person who you're speaking with knows something that you don't, even if it's probably not the case. At the end of the day, we are all fans of the same sport and want our team to succeed (again, the Jets don't count).

Aight. So regarding the Bills, I see a lot of positives from preseason. Allen looks great so far in the pocket and is delivering accurate balls on time, something he couldn't really do last year. Defense is still monsterous. WR corps looks a lot better this year (Brown looks solid in practice and Beasley has 5 recptions for 44 yards in Carolina). Shady and Frank Gore teaching Devin Singletary all he needs to know about football.

I'm predicting 8-8 and praying for a 10-6 season with a playoff spot. Unlikely but if it all works out, it could happen.

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Me neither. I woke up to this news and my first thought was "maybe 10-6 is no longer the minimum to make AFC Wild Card". Which is great for me because I have the Bills realistically going 9-7 this season.

All the best to Luck though. It's rough when you've got mental issues.

My Steelers have held two teams this preseason to under 10 points. They've also created SEVERAL turnovers AND a safety.

This defense might be fucking SCARY this season! That combined with the potential Ben has with Juju, Conner, McDonald, etc., we may actually have a SB team! They also say Devon Bush will be a candidate for DRoY. I'd love to see that! And he HAS looked great so far. No wonder the Steelers traded up ten spots to get him in the first round!

Looks like Mason Rudolph will get the backup job to Ben instead of Dobbs this time. He's been a bit better than Dobbs and he threw a TD bomb today too! Though just because of his name I'd love for Rudolph to be groomed as a starter for us someday too. lol I grew up loving Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. 😛 The Steelers need to make Mason wear a red nose and antlers in Christmas caroling videos!

All the best to Luck though. It's rough when you've got mental issues.

My Steelers have held two teams this preseason to under 10 points. They've also created SEVERAL turnovers AND a safety.

This defense might be fucking SCARY this season! That combined with the potential Ben has with Juju, Conner, McDonald, etc., we may actually have a SB team! They also say Devon Bush will be a candidate for DRoY. I'd love to see that! And he HAS looked great so far. No wonder the Steelers traded up ten spots to get him in the first round!

Looks like Mason Rudolph will get the backup job to Ben instead of Dobbs this time. He's been a bit better than Dobbs and he threw a TD bomb today too! Though just because of his name I'd love for Rudolph to be groomed as a starter for us someday too. lol I grew up loving Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. 😛 The Steelers need to make Mason wear a red nose and antlers in Christmas caroling videos!

Sorry to burst your bubble but the Steelers aren't even SB favourites in the AFC North. Browns are 18/1 while the Steelers are 20/1.

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Sorry to burst your bubble but the Steelers aren't even SB favourites in the AFC North. Browns are 18/1 while the Steelers are 20/1. ﻿﻿

...? I have no idea what you mean here. And why the hell wouldn't this team be a SB contender? Just because we missed the playoffs last year doesn't mean we can't contend this year.

lol the Browns as SB favorites? They're probably going to be better this season than they used to be, quite a bit better, actually, but SB favorites already? lol no. You can't just automatically say "SB favorites!" as soon as a team picks up a few good players.

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Because that one city is where all the money of people who bet on football concentrates. Vegas knows more about football than you or I COMBINED.

Okay, but a bunch of people who bet money still doesn't mean anything. They're just idiots taking a huge risk by betting on a team that hasn't even proven that they can have a winning season again. Let's see what the Browns do with their changes and acquisitions and then we'll talk. I do see them getting a winning season, just to point out. But the playoffs and SB? They need to actually prove they can contend for those things.

Also, who bets on the SB THIS early anyway? That's just dumb no matter how you slice it.

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Okay, but a bunch of people who bet money still doesn't mean anything. They're just idiots taking a huge risk by betting on a team that hasn't even proven that they can have a winning season again. Let's see what the Browns do with their changes and acquisitions and then we'll talk. I do see them getting a winning season, just to point out. But the playoffs and SB? They need to actually prove they can contend for those things.

Also, who bets on the SB THIS early anyway? That's just dumb no matter how you slice it.

I completely agree with you on this.

And yet, I have been watching football from a betting perspective for 15 years which is funny because I'm only 27 and my dad taught me how to bet on football from the age of 12. Vegas' accuracy with understanding lines and odds is absurdly good and just handwaving it because you're a Steelers fan is how Vegas steals your money.

There is a reason why I never bet on Bills games at all. It's because I'm too emotionally invested to actually watch the game properly. Same thing here. I don't think the Browns win the division... but I will agree that it is more likely that they do than Pittsburgh.

And yet, I have been watching football from a betting perspective for 15 years which is funny because I'm only 27 and my dad taught me how to bet on football from the age of 12. Vegas' accuracy with understanding lines and odds is absurdly good and just handwaving it because you're a Steelers fan is how Vegas steals your money.

There is a reason why I never bet on Bills games at all. It's because I'm too emotionally invested to actually watch the game properly. Same thing here. I don't think the Browns win the division... but I will agree that it is more likely that they do than Pittsburgh.

Look, regardless of Vegas's track record, how is it logical to think the Browns will win the SB after just one offseason? Doesn't it take a few years or so to build a good team? It's taken the Steelers a good few to finally build a good defense again!

Look, regardless of Vegas's track record, how is it logical to think the Browns will win the SB after just one offseason? Doesn't it take a few years or so to build a good team? It's taken the Steelers a good few to finally build a good defense again!

On paper, the team is actually pretty good. Specifically the defense. You are making a mistake by counting out the Browns before the season starts.

Mind you, I hope the Browns shit the bed because it would make the entire NFL media mad.

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I also agree that the Browns are kinda overhyped at the time being. Playoff contenders? Sure, that’s a fair prediction. But Super Bowl favorites? Quite a reach for a team that hasn’t had a winning season in over a decade, much less made by the playoffs in about twice that time.

Granted, I have nothing against the Browns; on the contrary I actually feel bad for most of their fans for their team pretty much being a meme for how abysmal their history is. Last season they made a noticeable improvement, albeit still having an average at best record (7-8-1 is nothing to brag about). Just knowing the Browns though, it’s entirely possible for them to screw everything up and end up back as bottomfeeders. Remember how hyped the Jaguars were in the previous season? Look how they turned out at the end, and at least the Jags had a winning record as well as nearly making it to the playoffs themselves. I really just need to see more of this team before I can make judgement calls on them, but best case scenario I can see them having a 10-6 or 9-7 record and having a honeymoon in the playoffs. Worst case scenario we see the glorious return of the Turds we’ve known the past seasons prior.

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Watching Luck's press conference now and I'm heartbroken for the guy. You can see it on his face that he did not want to do this but put his own health first. I just wish he did this back in April instead of two weeks before kickoff.

I don't blame Colts fans for being upset, though. The hot takes are terrible, mind you, and Doug Gottlieb should be ashamed of himself.

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Watching Luck's press conference now and I'm heartbroken for the guy. You can see it on his face that he did not want to do this but put his own health first. I just wish he did this back in April instead of two weeks before kickoff.

I don't blame Colts fans for being upset, though. The hot takes are terrible, mind you, and Doug Gottlieb should be ashamed of himself.

I think the Colts fans acted terrible towards him. Booing him because he decides to think about his health and stuff and retire early? Wtf is wrong with people?

I won't disagree the timing was bad though. It would've been better had Luck done this not so close to the start of the regular season. It's too sudden for a team to be short a QB. They've got like no time to get another one to replace him.

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As a Steelers fan, I actually wouldn't mind the Browns winning the SB after being in irrelevancy all this time, regardless of media expectations.

By the way, how about Antonio Brown and his ridiculous saga, huh? Getting his feet messed up, essentially bullying former teammate Juju who did nothing wrong to him, getting angry over helmets and threatening to quit football before deciding to return...and still filing grievances to allow him to wear his old helmet to no avail?

Look, regardless of Vegas's track record, how is it logical to think the Browns will win the SB after just one offseason? Doesn't it take a few years or so to build a good team? It's taken the Steelers a good few to finally build a good defense again!

Different sport, but the Vegas Golden Knights made it to the Stanley Cup in their first year of existing after drafting players from various teams. It's not that illogical to consider, and the Browns had signs of improvement last season after firing Hue Jackson. The Chiefs also had a strong 9-game winning streak to start 2013 after their 2-14 season in 2012.

Preparation doesn't necessarily have to happen over multiple years, even if it's normally the case to build a good team.

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By the way, how about Antonio Brown and his ridiculous saga, huh? Getting his feet messed up, essentially bullying former teammate Juju who did nothing wrong to him, getting angry over helmets and threatening to quit football before deciding to return...and still filing grievances to allow him to wear his old helmet to no avail?

Yeah, I can't defend him anymore. I understood his frustrations with the Steelers, but not the rest of the BS he's been doing lately. It hurts me personally though, because I considered him a hero of sorts. I'm real short, and I always felt like my height hindered me in a lot of situations. AB showed me that it doesn't necessarily have to! He was passed over and stuff at the beginning because he was thought to be too small to be a great WR, and he proved everybody wrong. Now the same person I looked up to has just caused a lot of bullshit and become a drama queen. It saddens me.

I've mostly gotten over it, but...yeah. I won't forget what he showed me about not letting height get in the way of things, but I won't give him much respect anymore.

1 hour ago, NoirCore said:

Different sport, but the Vegas Golden Knights made it to the Stanley Cup in their first year of existing after drafting players from various teams. It's not that illogical to consider, and the Browns had signs of improvement last season after firing Hue Jackson. The Chiefs also had a strong 9-game winning streak to start 2013 after their 2-14 season in 2012.

Preparation doesn't necessarily have to happen over multiple years, even if it's normally the case to build a good team.

Yeah, I know all that happened, I follow the NHL too because I love the Penguins. And I still love Fleury who went to the Golden Knights. But it feels like this kind of situation is still a rare and unlikely occurrence.

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Apparently he got into an altercation with GM Mike Mayock after being upset with being fined for missing practice to the point of threatening to hit him and punting a ball at him (and then being held back by Burfict of all people).

Then he got suspended by the Raiders for the first game.

Then he apologized and got his suspension lifted.

Then he got fined for the altercation and is mad about again.

Then Gruden called him to stop the drama and Brown recorded it to post on YouTube.

And now I just heard as I type this that Gruden was "amused" by the video. What the hell is happening in Oakland for their last season in the area?